Aug 6
American White Waterlily (Nymphaea odorata), taken July 14, 2026, in New Hampshire, US
A dense layer of waterlilies covering the surface of a beaver pond, hiding thousands of frogs among them! When I visited this pond, the lilies were unfortunately just barely not blooming yet, but it was still cool to see all of the flower buds sticking out of the lily sea. If you zoom in on the photos, especially the first, you can see a few bullfrogs sitting on top of the leaves. Lily pad forests offer prime habitat for many amphibians, insects, and fish, sheltering them, cleaning the water, and keeping the light levels low for shyer species. While many swimmers think them a nuisance, they're a blessing to local wildlife!
